Defeating terrorism

A number of recent incidents show the predicament the Tigers are placed in and their sheer desperation to cause mayhem in Colombo. Many independent analysts and experts are saying for the first time that the defeat of Tigers, once thought to be ‘invincible’, is inevitable if the Armed Forces continue their present thrust.

The respected military analysts Jane’s said this week that the LTTE was at its lowest ebb since the 1980s. Jane’s said the Government’s military campaign as well as recruitment problems, international pressure over fundraising and arms procurement were hurting the LTTE.

International news agencies also reported that the Forces have gained the upper hand in the battles. More than 6,500 Tigers have been killed since 2006 according to military estimates. Military strength, both in terms of superior firepower and manpower as well as better intelligence seem to have worked in the Forces’ favour.

In this context, one of the most significant breakthroughs in the battle against the LTTE is the arrest of virtually the second-in-command of the LTTE shipping business recently in Colombo.

Judging by the photographs made available to intelligence officials and published in Government websites, this key LTTE operative named Sami has had ready access to the LTTE’s top leaders, including Prabhakaran himself.

The Navy has dispatched most Tiger vessels to the bottom of the sea, but it does not mean that the Tigers will stop trying to procure arms by ship. The arrested suspect’s shipping line could still be involved in this clandestine activity.

Cross-border and international intelligence sharing is essential to intercept such vessels. We hope the arrest would also lead to the unravelling of more details on the Tigers’ international arms procurement network.

The LTTE is also desperate to achieve some ‘success’ to keep the morale of its rapidly depleting cadres high. Hence its attempts to attack civilian, military and VIP targets in Colombo and elsewhere.

The bomb placed at the Anuradhapura fair, defused by a valiant sailor and the Mt. Lavinia bus bomb, which unfortunately caused injuries to 18 persons even though a far bigger tragedy was averted, are just two examples for the Tigers’ twisted designs.

It is also no secret that the Tigers are sending suicide cadres to Colombo to take civilian, military and VIP targets. The suicide blasts at the Fort Railway Station on February 3 and at Modera yesterday indicate that this practice will continue to be in the Tiger arsenal.

The Tigers are also desperate on the propaganda front. It was just two days back that the military exposed the Tigers’ insidious manipulation of images on international websites to suit their agenda.

Some local media stations are also playing into the Tigers’ hands wittingly or unwittingly by highlighting certain incidents in a sensational manner without verifying the facts.

For example, some TV stations reported top Tiger Sami’s arrest as a so-called ‘white van abduction’ of a Tamil person. Many such unfounded allegations abound in the media.

In this backdrop, wining the propaganda war is as important as battlefield victories for the Government. We have seen healthy signs that several Lankan diplomats are taking a pro-active role in countering LTTE misinformation in their respective countries.

Articles outlining the brutality of the Tigers and the Government’s attempts to find peace written by Lankan envoys appeared recently in the Washington Times, South China Morning Post and a Vatican newspaper.

Such a stance by Lankan envoys is commendable lest the Tigers have their say unchallenged. Moreover, several expatriate Lankan organisations, the Lankan Mission in Geneva and the Colombo-based Peace Secretariat have set the record straight several times whenever false reports on Sri Lanka were published in the international media.

Defeating terrorism is no simple exercise. The military campaign is necessarily the most important aspect. The emergence of a political solution that addresses the concerns of all communities is equally important.

A concerted international effort against terrorist fund raising and arms procurement is another very important aspect. Giving a true picture of the terrorists to the world will also help isolate them internationally. Only such a multi-pronged approach can lead to the elimination of the scourge of terrorism from our midst.